Azure AKS

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) is Microsoft Azure’s managed Kubernetes service that simplifies deploying, managing, and operating Kubernetes clusters. AKS provides a fully managed Kubernetes control plane, integrates deeply with Azure services, and offers unique features like Windows container support, virtual nodes for serverless scaling, and Azure Arc integration.

What Is AKS?

AKS is a managed Kubernetes service where Microsoft Azure operates the Kubernetes control plane (API server, etcd, scheduler, controller manager) for you. You manage worker nodes and deploy applications, while Azure ensures the control plane is highly available, secure, and up-to-date.

graph TB subgraph azure_managed[Azure Managed Control Plane] A[AKS Control Plane] --> B[API Server<br/>Multi-Zone] A --> C[etcd<br/>Multi-Zone] A --> D[Scheduler<br/>Multi-Zone] A --> E[Controller Manager<br/>Multi-Zone] end subgraph your_cluster[Your AKS Cluster] F[Virtual Network] --> G[Worker Nodes] G --> H[Your Applications] G --> I[AKS Add-ons] end A -.->|Manages| G F -->|Networking| A style A fill:#e1f5ff style G fill:#fff4e1 style H fill:#e8f5e9

Azure Responsibilities:

Control plane availability and health
Kubernetes version management and upgrades
Security patches and updates
High availability across availability zones
API server endpoint management
etcd backups and recovery

Your Responsibilities:

Worker node provisioning and management
Application deployment and configuration
Networking and Network Security Group configuration
Storage and persistent volumes
Monitoring and logging setup
Cost optimization

Key Differentiators

AKS stands out with deep Azure integration and unique features:

Native Azure Integration

AKS integrates seamlessly with Azure services:

Virtual Network - Native VNet integration with Azure CNI or kubenet
Azure Active Directory - Use Azure AD for Kubernetes authentication
Workload Identity - Pods can assume Azure identities
Azure Disk and Azure Files - Native storage integration
Azure Load Balancer - Integrated load balancing
Azure Monitor - Native metrics and logging integration
Azure Key Vault - Secure secrets management
Azure Policy - Governance and compliance

Unique Features

Windows Container Support:

Full support for Windows Server containers
Windows node pools alongside Linux node pools
Mixed workloads in the same cluster

Virtual Nodes:

Serverless container scaling with Azure Container Instances
Pay-per-second billing
Rapid scaling without node provisioning

Azure Arc Integration:

Manage AKS clusters from anywhere
Multi-cloud and hybrid deployments
Centralized governance

High Availability

AKS control planes run across multiple availability zones automatically:

graph TB subgraph region[Azure Region] subgraph az1[Availability Zone 1] A1[API Server] E1[etcd Node] end subgraph az2[Availability Zone 2] A2[API Server] E2[etcd Node] end subgraph az3[Availability Zone 3] A3[API Server] E3[etcd Node] end end LB[Load Balancer] --> A1 LB --> A2 LB --> A3 E1 <--> E2 E2 <--> E3 E3 <--> E1 style LB fill:#e1f5ff style A1 fill:#fff4e1 style A2 fill:#fff4e1 style A3 fill:#fff4e1

AKS Architecture

Understanding how AKS components work together:

graph LR subgraph user[User/Application] U[kubectl/API Client] end subgraph aks_control[AKS Control Plane] API[API Server] ETCD[etcd] SCHED[Scheduler] CM[Controller Manager] end subgraph vnet[Your Virtual Network] subgraph node_pool[Node Pool] N1[Worker Node 1] N2[Worker Node 2] N3[Worker Node N] end PODS[Your Pods] end subgraph azure_services[Azure Services] AAD[Azure AD] DISK[Azure Disk] LB[Azure Load Balancer] MON[Azure Monitor] end U -->|kubectl apply| API API --> ETCD API --> SCHED SCHED -->|Schedule Pods| N1 SCHED -->|Schedule Pods| N2 CM -->|Manage State| API N1 --> PODS N2 --> PODS N3 --> PODS PODS -->|Authenticate| AAD PODS -->|Mount| DISK PODS -->|Expose| LB PODS -->|Metrics| MON style API fill:#e1f5ff style PODS fill:#e8f5e9 style AAD fill:#fff4e1

When to Use AKS

AKS is ideal when:

✅ Already on Azure - You’re using Azure services and want native integration

✅ Windows Containers - Need to run Windows Server containers alongside Linux

✅ Azure AD Integration - Want to leverage Azure AD for authentication and authorization

✅ Virtual Nodes - Need serverless scaling without managing nodes

✅ Azure Arc - Want to manage clusters across multi-cloud or hybrid environments

✅ Enterprise Requirements - Need compliance certifications and Azure Policy integration

✅ Cost Optimization - Want to use Spot VMs and Azure Reserved Instances

✅ Microsoft Ecosystem - Using Microsoft technologies and services

Topics

Getting Started

Overview - Deep dive into AKS architecture, features, and use cases
Cluster Setup - Creating and configuring AKS clusters

Core Infrastructure

Networking - Azure CNI, kubenet, service networking, and Ingress
Storage - Azure Disk, Azure Files, and persistent volume management
Security - Azure AD, Workload Identity, and security best practices

Operations

Node Management - Node pools, VM sizes, Windows nodes, and lifecycle management
Autoscaling - Cluster Autoscaler, HPA, virtual nodes, and scaling strategies
Observability - Azure Monitor, Log Analytics, and Application Insights
Add-ons - AKS add-ons and popular extensions

Support

Troubleshooting - Common issues, debugging techniques, and solutions